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Naming a starter

June 6, 2012 - Mike McLain

BEREA -- Don't be surprised if rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden is named the starter before the Browns open training camp in late Jiuly.

Coach Pat Shurmur said after Wednesday's minicamp practice that he'd prefer to have a starter in place sooner rather than later. Weeden, the 22nd overall pick in the draft, and Colt McCoy have been sharing repetitions with the first team. Weeden appears to be getting more work, and he has clearly been the better of the two.

McCoy was named the starter long before the start of training camp last year. He started 13 games before suffering a season-ending concussion on a vicious hit by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison.

McCoy hasn't performed well in practices that have been open to the media. During one-on-one drills Tuesday he threw a short pass directly into the hands of cornerback Dimitri Patterson.

If anything, McCoy seems to have taken a step back. He was inaccurate on many of his short passes last season, and the problem has continued into practices this year.

If the current trend continues, Shurmur's decision should be easy.

“I think you name the starter sooner than later,” Shurmur said. “Ideally we’d have a starter now. But when you have new players that you really like, you just need to see them come in and do it before you make that move.”